Tell Me Sweet Lies
by WoShiYingtao
Summary: About a confused and ordinary Hyuuga and a Kagami in a perpetual bomb-state. Will our tiger win the heart of a reluctant and fearful captain?
1. Chapter 1

Characters' thoughts are in _italic_. :)

* * *

><p>"O-ohi!"<p>

The sound of footsteps on the gravel, dry and heavy.

"Captain!"

Shortness of breath, sweat on the forehead.

"Wait!"

Kagami had never been so nervous in his whole life.

"WHAT!"

_Not even during my first basketball game_, he thought stopping suddenly, putting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

"Le-... Let me explain, please!"

He wiped his face with one hand, eyes narrowed. You can do it, he told himself then rebounding and looking straight in front of him.

"So?"

A short stop. The eyes still distant of the captain of the Seirin were staring at him, inspecting him carefully.  
>It was hard, terribly hard...<p>

"The others have already gone and your steak will cool if-"  
>"I like you!"<p>

To hope that he had a slightest opportunity to be heard by him.

"What?"

A step forward, a slight movement; Kagami tried to get close to Hyuuga.

"It's the truth, I like you."

He put his hands on his shoulders, stopped him. He thought for a moment to be crazy, to have lost his mind, but he was only trying to do the best thing, what would free him of that weight in the stomach that wouldn't let him sleep at night.

"Ah?!"

The captain stepped back, albeit with difficulty, he grabbed his wrists trying to shake him off.

"We have no time to lose, Kagami! We're here to train ahead of the game, we shouldn't-"  
>"I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU, CAPTAIN!"<p>

But shutting instantly after hearing the guy say those words.  
>He opened his eyes, he began to sweat. The sixteen year old red-haired increased his grip on his shoulders, holding him.<p>

"Do you remember the other day? I kissed you, right?! I did it because I wanted to do it, really!"

Hyuuga winced.  
>How to react in such a situation? It was the first time ever that he was blown away, shocked, and that was a side of Kagami that he had never seen before.<p>

"Kagami, this is not the right time to joke..."  
>"I'm not kidding!"<p>

He was so upset, embarrassed. His face was flushed, the two fingers were trembling. It was the truth, then?

"I like you, captain..."

Was sincere, that red-haired giant?

"I like you, I mean it! So please- ..."

Shouting in that way, in the middle of the street...

"Please go out with me!"

_He must be seriously convinced_, Hyuuga said himslef.  
>It had to be something important, to put so much embarrassment.<p>

"Go-go out?!"

What he should have said?  
>What he should do?<p>

"Give me a chance, captain!"

He...

"Ka-... Kagami-..."

Not at all accustomed to certain things.

"I-I-..."

So explicit, so determined.  
>Someone as <strong>Hyuuga Junpei<strong>...

"I don't know-..."

Not at all ready to deal with things like love.

* * *

><p><strong>SOME WEEKS BEFORE<strong>

"Hheeeee?!"

A deep and throaty moan coming from the dressing room made everyone present, distracting everyone from his workout.

"What hell-..."

With the usual olive green t-shirt and white shorts, hair disheveled and just a strong scent of aftershave on him, the captain of the Seirin was the first to turn around and talk.

"Who is left in the dressing room?"  
>"O-oh-..."<p>

Izuki Shun, the handsome firing punctually bad jokes, scratched his nose and looked at the captain.

"Kagami and-... Kiyoshi?"  
>"Ah?"<p>

They all began to grumble, since those workouts were pretty damn important, and the two giants (as well as the Aces of the team) were in terrible delay.

"Well, I don't care!"

Hyuuga threw the ball to Izuki.

"We can train without them, we are not of those chips!"

And the climate warmed immediately, as if someone had driven a strange heating.  
>They spent about ten minutes, but Kagami and Teppei still no trace.<p>

"Hyu-Hyuuga?! YOU LIKE HYUUGA?!"  
>"Sen-senpai, please!"<p>

Kagami covered Teppei's mouth with his big, huge hands, as he was beginning to sweat under stress.

"Don't say it so loud! If someone would hear us, I-..."

It was embarrassing, terribly embarrassing...

"I couldn't more-..."

Being in there, with him, to confess something heavy like that.  
>He narrowed his eyes, put his hands through his hair. The black T-shirt perfectly ironed, still perfumed washing, white shorts and red shoes.<p>

"What-... what should I do, senpai?"

Motionless body but mind as ruminant as had ever been.

"Y-you-... Are you sure? I mean-... He is a man and-..."

For a couple of months to that day, he hadn't stopped for a moment to think about him, the captain of his team.

"Ah-... Of course I'm not sure, but it's not so easy to live with that kind of thoughts!"

Still, he had never been interested in other boys, he even liked a lot of girls, how was it possible to feel emotions such as those for someone of his same sex?

"I'm still trying to figure out, but-... if I hadn't talked to anyone about it, I would have gone mad!"

Hyuuga Junpei, plus!  
>A time bomb, neurotic and stiff as a soldier...<p>

"I don't know... I don't know what I should do..."

Crude, undeniably virile, robust. What the hell he found so attractive in a man like him? These (plus a whole infinite series) questions were whisked into his head day and night, without interruption, confusing him more and more, never finding an answer. Perhaps, he said himself, if he had spoken about it with Teppei he would feel better, since the Iron Heart and the Clutch Player were best friends for some time already.

"But-..."

Or, at least, he would know something more about his private life, on his taste in women.

"Have you ever tried to-... touch him?"

Kagami turned sharply.

"WHAT?!"

He opened his eyes, raised his voice.

"To-... Touch him?! Are you crazy?! I-I could never do that!"

Becoming so red that his face and his hair became a whole, sweating even more profusely.

"I don't-... I can't even look him in the eyes, how could I even t-"  
>"EHY, YOU TWO!"<p>

Suddenly, almost as if the mention of his name did magically appear him in front of their eyes, Hyuuga opened the door and screamed.

"I may know that damn are you doing in here?! The workouts began for twenty minutes and the others are tired of waiting!"

Slowly approaching them, wiping his forehead with sweat. Kagami froze, still embarrassed by the idea of "touching hm".

"I-I'm sorry!"

He jumped up, Hyuuga stood in front of him and raised an eyebrow, then tilting his head.

"If you're sorry, then why didn't you come before?"  
>"I-I dozed off all of a sudden so-... Senpai tried in vain to wake me up to now-..."<p>

He looked into his eyes. A few seconds of silence, then the captain took two fingers to his glasses and shook his head.

"You couldn't sleep because of your excitement, right?"

Kagami felt his own heart pounding through his wrists, swallowed, nodded.

"R-right!"  
>"I understand."<p>

He followed him with his eyes as he walked away from him, he stared at his back and the sweat stain on his shirt.

"Anyway, hurry! Have you wasted enough time!"  
>"Y-yes!"<p>

He sighed.

_It's true, after all..._

"Don't worry, Kagami! We will have time to talk about it again, soon."

_I like him, I like SERIOUSLY him!_

"Now let's enjoy the game!"

_I like that guy, I really like him!_

"Y-yes... You're right..."

_And now?! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!_

* * *

><p>"Ah... Shit..."<p>

With slow and light steps, Kagami Taiga was heading toward the usual kiosk right next to his apartment, where he went at the end of each workout.

"This situation is deteriorating, I have to invent something."

He muttered aloud as he put a hand on the door and entered the room, still wearing his suit and the huge bag on his shoulders.

"Yo!"

Since it was now a regular customer, all presents turned towards him and greeted him warmly, then torturing him with the usual questions about basketball, while he went to sit at the usual place (the one on the far left, near the window).

"What a pain in the ass..."

It was at least the twentieth time that he sighed in just 5 minutes, and just because of that horrible weight in the chest that he had felt during all the afternoon, even in the midst of a friendly game with his teammates.

"The usual, Ben-san!"

Somehow he found the strength to order his usual (15) chicken burgers with ketchup, resting his chin on the wrist and then looking out the window. The sun was still high despite being past 20:00, _and everything I need is to throw myself into my bed and sleep for 12 hours_, he thought.

"Yeah-..."

_If only I stopped for a second to think about him!_

"Tch!"

He put his hands through his hair again, still thinking of the captain's smell as he went out of the shower; his wet and soft hair that he brushed with his nose every time they were near to each other.

"Shit-..."

He remembered the warmth of his body when, together, they came out of the gym and walked to the bus stop, then his voice loud and deep urging everyone to hurry up.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

A voice so annoying and piercing...

"Kagami."

That he could almost hear in there, in that moment, as if Hyuuga was present.

"Shit..."  
>"Ohi, Kagami!"<p>

Then he paused.

"What?"

_Now I'm even beginning to hallucinate?_

"KAGAMI, LOOK AT ME!"

He lifted his head as if struck by an electric shock, fearing even to have a heart attack.

"W-WHAT?!"

Because, as soon as he raised his eyes and looked straight in front of him, he knew what he faced wasn't a hallucination.

"Ca-captain-... What are you doing here?!"

But it was just him, Hyuuga.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wha-..."

It was Hyuuga in person, in that place light years away from the gym and unknown to anyone.  
>Kagami clenched his fists, he swallowed.<p>

"What are you doing here?! H-how did you know I was-..."

While the other, who was also still in his sweatpants, grabbed his bag and sat down right next to him.

"Well..."

Very close to him.  
>Kagami began to tremble like a leaf and thought just how dangerous it was to not have the slightest control of his body and his physical reactions.<p>

"Kuroko told me that you brought him here once, I just made an attempt."

_It was the time to run away as far as possible from the other_ he thought, and to do it in a hurry.

"Y-you shouldn't have! This place it's so far from the gym and the food here is-"  
>"Why not? I thought you needed help, Teppei was very worried about you."<p>

His eyes widened.

"What? Senpai-... what did he-... say?"  
>"He was seriously concerned about your insomnia, so I thought a little you would have helped you."<br>"A-ah-... I see-..."

Kagami felt releaved, much more comfortable knowing that Teppei hadn't told anything dangerous.

"T-thank you, captain..."

Within a few minutes, the burgers (and the futto for Hyuuga) arrived on the table, the brunette fastly began to chew like a horse.

"Do you have erection problems, Kagami?"  
>"Wh-what ?!"<p>

_Erection?!_

"No! Absolutely not!"

_Where the hell did you pulled that out?!_

"This is not my problem!"

It was already so hard to talk face to face with the person for whom he was gradually losing his mind, let alone do it so close.  
>Opening speeches like "erections", then...<p>

"You shouldn't be ashamed to talk about it, Kagami. We're both men, right? It's okay."

He just wanted to run away and hide, but he wasn't that type of guy after all.

"Well..."

So he sighed and closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

"There's a person that I like, lately."

_Might as well throw in the towel_, he said himself bringing a hand through his hair and clenching his fist.

"And I can't stop thinking about it, to tell the truth."

Hyuuga cocked his head and looked at him with a serious look, almost disappointed.

"Is that all?"  
>"What?"<br>"Is this what doesn't make you sleep at night?"

He picked up his glass of Cola (yes, in the meantime their orders had already arrived) and began to drink.

"I never thought that you'd lost your time with such nonsense, Kagami."

Kagami was surprised.  
>Since when he was so insensitive? Just him, who has seemed so emotional, so moody.<p>

"All of us spend that kind of moment, during our teenage."

_And why is he talking like an old wiseacre?!_

"But it's just a waste of time, you don't need it."  
>"But-... You don't even know what I'm talking about, actually!"<br>"I know it, instead."

Hyuuga stopped drinking, he closed his eyes.

"I think of someone too."

**Bang.**  
>Kagami choked, swallowed several times, tried to keep control of his hands and his voice even though he was completely panicked.<p>

"A-ah-... Really?! I didn't think-... someone like captain-..."  
>"I'm a human too."<p>

He felt overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.  
>He knew that the boy was not referring to him, indeed, but to someone who obviously didn't reciprocate his feelings.<p>

"And I can feel that kind of emotion too!"

Yet, cold as usual, Hyuuga began to drink Cola and simply do a half smile.

"But this is not the time to talk about it, right? Tell me about it, come on. What's her name?"  
>"W-well-... err-..."<p>

Kagami stammered gibberish in an attempt to divert the conversation, and in doing so he managed to delay the response of at least an hour and a half. Then, suddenly, Hyuuga stood up and threw a bill on the table.

"It's time to go home, now."

The giant red-haired could only stare at his slender and impressive figure move slowly, and finally reach the port of entry.

"Captain, wait!"

He get up and start running to catch up as soon as he realized that the captain had paid for both, and he wondered why so much kindness towards him.

"The money!"

He stopped not far from him.

"Don't think about it, that's okay."  
>"But-... you don't have a job, you may need to these-"<br>"Then cook for me, one of these times!"

He looked at him in astonishment.

"Cook-... for you?"  
>"Yes! I already saw your skills in the kitchen, and I certainly have no desire to be a guinea pig to Riko, so- ..."<p>

He saw him smile just spontaneously.  
>Squinting slightly...<p>

"Will you do it for me, again?"  
>"Ah... yes..."<p>

And he shuddered, gasped.

_So is the coach, the person you think about?_

"Excellent! I'll tell you when I'm free!"

_Since when?_

"Okay."

_What do you think of her?_  
><em>What do you feel for her?<em>

"See you tomorrow, Kagami. Try to sleep, we have an important game next week."

_Do you feel the same way as me?_

"I want you to be at you 100%, right?!"

_I guess you're serious about it..._

"Sure."

_...and that I have no hope..._

"Night, captain."

_Someone like me..._

"Goodnight!"

_A MAN LIKE ME..._

* * *

><p>"Is it okay, tonight?"<p>

A start.

"Eh?"

His vision was blurred and a lot of sweat dripped from his nose...

"What for?"

But Kagami had heard the voice of the captain right next to his ear, as he had felt his presence approaching him.

"You have to cook for me, Kagami! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"  
>"Oh, no! I could never forget about it-..."<p>

An adrenaline rush had invested his entire body.  
>He failed to notice it (obviously), but when he had lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, Hyuuga stared for a few seconds at his abs. And it was rather strange, to tell the truth.<p>

"At half past nine, then?" "Oh-... it's perfect, I agree." "Good."

He barely saw him smile as he walked away from him again, moving closer to the bathroom and then disappearing into the third shower.

_Half past nine, huh?_

"Ah..."

_It will be tiring...  
>Extremely tiring...<em>

* * *

><p>"Oh-... come on!"<p>

With much of the apron and bandana, Kagami had already started to work (as if cooking for a major competition).

"Why the hell am I shaking that much?!"

In the captain's apartment, for the first time since they had met.

"It's not even a date, what the heck!"

A small but comfortable house, a common apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo. And, since his parents were out for their job, they were completely alone. Kagami was so nervous that he spoke aloud, knowing the other's presence (yes, he was in the shower, but he could still hear him), and he was so confused that he was going to put sugar on the six eggs he was cooking.

"KAGAMI!"

He turned his back shooting as a soldier.

"WHAT?!"  
>"How much time do I have left?"<p>

He realized only then that Hyuuga had just emerged from the shower (perhaps because he was accustomed to look at him half naked), but it was like see him for the first time.

"W-well-... let me think about it-..."

He wanted to stop everything, not caring of all morality and all sorts of education...

"Twe-... twenty minutes?"

And look for all the answers for his questions by touching him, kissing him, hugging him tightly.

"Perfect!"

Because he loved him.  
>And he want to spend more time with him.<p>

"See you in twenty minutes, then!"

Not to mention that Hyuuga had invited him to his own free will, and that he himself had to take the initiative and asked him to cook for him.

"Y-yes..."

And was it a coincidence that they were alone, that night? He knew it was wrong to get any ideas, plus his teammate didn't suspect his crush on him, but...

"It will be better to start from beginning, with these fucking eggs!"

How could he not delude himself in such a situation?

"Damn!"

It was weird, awfully weird.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ahhhhh..."

Hyuuga wiped his mouth with the white towel, put his hands to the floor.

"Delicious, Kagami!"

Satisfied, excited. The atmosphere in the room was surprisingly quiet, the open window let light penetrate gusts of fresh air, while the television on was giving the usual quiz that no one was following too closely. With legs crossed, dark T-shirt slightly sweaty and bags under the eyes, Kagami stared at the captain and never looked away.

"I'm glad, captain. Want some more?"

Happy.  
>Willing to do anything just to be with him more than that.<p>

"Why not? After all, tomorrow is Sunday and I have no commitments!"

He would have spoiled him, satisfied him in his every whim, if he would have spend more time in the same room, together.

"Should I pull out a second futon, then?"

Suddenly spitted the captain.

"F-futon?"  
>"Eh. If we both fell sleep like two idiots..."<p>

_Wait._  
><em>Sleep?<em>

"Oh-oh-..."

_Together?!_

"I-it's not necessary, I-..."

_Absolutely, NEVER!_

"I'll come back home before it's too late, don't worry!"

_I can't let that happen!,_ said Kagami to himself getting up on his knees and leaning both hands on the table. He had begun to tremble, without even realizing it.

"Kagami-... You do live alone, right? Then why you should go back before it is "too late"?"

It was a fortune to cook for him, seriously.  
>Even to eat in the same room, at HIS home, after a hard day of training.<p>

"I wouldn't cause too much trouble to your parents!"

It had to be a dream, of course.  
>But how could he sleep with him? How would he be able to explain to him that it was HIM, the reason why he couldn't sleep at night?<p>

"Nah, don't worry, I'm not even sure that they'll return for the weekend."

He swallowed. The room was so small that he began to feel suffocated but, before he had a chance to react, Hyuuga stood up and walked to his bedroom.

"I hope you don't mind that I don't have the prettiest futon."

_What?_

"I don't usually invite people to my house, to tell the truth."

_I am one of the few? ME?_

"N-no problem!"

_Why are you doing this to me? _  
><em>Don't you understand that... <em>  
><em>If you continue to act like that, I...<em>

Hyuuga passed just in front of the door of the room, then went to the kitchen and open the refrigerator.

"Oh, you want some beer?"

It was already past eleven, and the sleep was beginning to be felt, but Kagami was not going to miss even a second of the experience.

"B-but captain-... W-we can't drink, we are underage!"  
>"Tch-... Don't tell me you have not been drinking, Kagami!"<p>

He looked up, grabbed the can that the other was holding out.

"I did it when I was in America."  
>"Seriously?"<p>

Hyuuga sat down, stretched his legs, he began to sip.

"Do you miss that place?"  
>"Sometimes. But I feel good here, so-..."<p>

_Maybe, I'm already asleep and dreaming_, said the giant looking out the window, swallowing slowly and enjoying the beer.

"I'm fine, I don't need to go back."  
>"What do you miss more than everything?"<p>

He laughed.

"Street basketball."  
>"Street?"<br>"An american way to play quite different from yours."  
>"We can do it, sometime!"<p>

He laughed again. For the first time after all those hours, he was able to smile sincerely and look at the other in the eye without fear.

"This is something totally unknown to all of you, captain! I could never ask you to-"  
>"Do you have a girlfriend in America?"<p>

_Eh?_

"What?"

_Once again? _  
><em>Again interested in my life?<em>

"W-well no, of course I don't have a girlfriend in America! How could I keep a relationship to such a distance?!"  
>"I had an affair with an European girl for a while."<p>

A short stop.

"But, like you said, it's very difficult to find time to see each other when you are so far away."

Hyuuga sighed.

"Or when you're of the same sexual gender."

Kagami coughed, almost choking.

"S-sexual gender?!"  
>"Yes. Don't you think it's really difficult for two people of the same sex to love each other freely in a society like this?"<p>

He was bursting, his heart had suddenly jumped up to his throat.

"I-I-..."

Why? Why was he shaking like that? Why Hyuuga had to open THAT speech?  
>He couldn't tell if it was because of all the ramen and futto he had eaten, but he felt sick.<p>

"I can understand what it feels like, in certain situations-..."

Or, he thought, the beer was starting to flow in the blood and he was turning into a real incompetent.

"Cause I-..."

He felt that all his covers were slipping, his defenses were completely collapsed, his tongue wouldn't stop.

"I think I'm gay."

And he couldn't do anything but let them slide, those words.

"Yes, I'm gay!"

He would never again looked into the other's eyes, he began to scratch his head violently then laughing like a madman.

"HAHAHA, HURRAY! What kind of a freak of nature, huh?! Someone like me!"

Hyuuga stopped drinking, got up, straightened his back. He looked at him.

"Kagami?"

_Come on, judge me. _  
><em>I don't know why I said that, I'm not even sure of it!<em>

"Are you serious?"

_I only know that I like you, and this is the real problem! _

"So it seems!"

_Yet... _  
><em>You don't even look so surprised... <em>  
><em>Why do you never-<em>

"Kagami, you idiot!"

Hyuuga laughed. He was laughing out loud for the first time.

"Is that what's troubling you?! That's why all the mystery between you and Kiyoshi!"

Kagami snapped.

"What? No!"

He crawled toward him.

"There's nothing between us, the senpai simply listened to me during a difficult time! He has nothing to do with this!"

He looked down, put the can on the table.  
><em>This is the end<em>, he told himself.

"So please-... don't say nothing to others! They would surely start to avoid me or even not trust in me anymore!"

Hyuuga put a hand on the knee, pointed a finger to his face face.

"Hum. I'll not say anything to the others, but you shouldn't be ashamed of who you are."

Kagami was impressed.  
>He felt small, stupid, in front of his safety and his mental flexibility.<p>

"You are YOU, and you are free to be whoever you want!"

_This guy is a constant surprise_, he thought.

"W-well-... I'm still not entirely sure, but-..."

He swallowed, took a short break, then took a deep breath.

"There's a person that I-... a boy I like-..."  
>"Do I know him?"<br>"W-well-..."

_It's you, idiot!_

"Technically, yes."  
>"Is him a part of one of the teams that we will play against?"<br>"Yeah..."  
>"I see. But, whoever the person you like right now is, I don't want you to miss a few shots when you have to face him in the middle of a game, right?"<p>

_Terrifying_, thought Kagami.

"O-of course! It would never happen!"

Scary, that captain of a thousand faces.

"Good."

Charming and devastating, just like the shots he did during their matches, able to leave everyone with bated breath for ten seconds.

"So-... do you want some more beer? No limits, tonight!"

And Kagami was completely overwhelmed, invested.

"No-... limits?"

_How much I am afraid, right now..._

"Yeah, no limits!"

_And how much I desire to kiss you, right now._


	4. Chapter 4

The night was spent in a hurry, just as quickly it was also came the morning.

"Nnh-..."

Between a laugh and another, and between a meaningless joke and another, Kagami and Hyuuga had consumed at least a dozen cans of beer, then falling asleep like two sacks of potatoes, with the television still on. Fortunately, the unit was equipped with the automatic shut-off, so now the sun was the only source of light to illuminate, even if only halfly, the small living room.

"Nnhah-..."

And to illuminate the outline of their figures reverse on the floor, still unconscious.  
>The one upon another.<p>

"Ah-..."

Nothing strange, nothing ambiguous, their bodies were just attracted like two magnets during the night (okay, maybe because of the alcohol), and so the captain was ended up lying like a corpse on the Ace player.

"What the-"

Who, in response, hugged him and held him tight all the time, unconsciously.  
>No one would have ever believed such a thing, not the rest of the team, and no one would ever, ever understood the meaning of that situation.<p>

"What-"

Slowly, Kagami opened one eye and rolled his head, moving his hands through his hair, then in the throes of a fit.  
>It seemed to him that his brain would burst, it was perhaps because of the hangover?<p>

"Ca-..."

Then, he realized.  
>He realized that he had Hyuuga's scent just under the nose.<p>

"Captain?"

And he also realized that his body, hot and heavy, was now upon him, like a blanket.

"CAPTAIN?!"

It was Hyuuga.

"What-"

Who woke up suddenly, after hearing him scream.

"Ka-Kagami?!"  
>"Captain?!"<br>"What the hell are you doing?!"  
>"What the hell are <em>YOU<em> doing!"  
>"You're raping me!"<br>"_YOU'RE_ lying on top of me!"

Kagami grabbed him by the arm, pushed him gently.

"P-please-... move away!"

Made him lie down next to him, but couldn't take his eyes from him.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I-"

Wait.

"We fell asleep at the same time, captain!"  
>"Then why the hell I was on you?!"<br>"I-... I don't know why, maybe we did something this night and I don't remem-"  
>"WHAT WOULE WE DO THIS NIGHT?!"<br>"I-I-I DON'T KNOW!"

Rarely he had felt so embarrassed.  
>It was the chance to take off from there, he said himself.<p>

"Anyway, it's better for me to go home!"

He got up, really faster than light, dressed up and escaped from the captain's home. How the hell they had ended up in a position like that? But... now that he thought about it, just before falling asleep he was still lucid enough to understand what was going on around him, and Hyuuga was already fast asleep.  
>Then why?<br>Why that dinner?  
>Why that kindness towards him?<br>Why had they slept together?

* * *

><p>"Captain!"<p>

The workouts were more intense than usual, ahead of the match Seirin would play next week (against Touou), and the time for talk was very little. The gym smelled of plastic and metal, as usual, but the air was tense and thick as electricity, and there were also the usual bickering between teammates.

"Captain, a shot of three!"

Kagami was puzzled. Despite all the concentration, the thought of how he and Hyuuga had left the previous day was buzzing around like the most annoying hornets.

"Ah?! It's not time yet, Izuki!"

Not to mention that the captain hadn't yet said a word to him, not a single time.  
>And yet...<p>

"KAGAMI!"  
>"EH?!"<p>

_Why?,_ he wondered running as fast as he could, trying to keep his eye on the ball.

"WAKE UP, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"  
>"I-I'M COMING!"<p>

Why had happened _what_ happened? Perhaps, he thought, he would have to take the initiative and talk to him first, so as to reduce that kind of wall between them. _But I haven't even confessed to him directly!,_ he said still carrying, finally, his first point in the game.

"Very good, Kagami-kun!"

Kuroko quickly joined him, looked at him from the bottom to the top with his usual big and blue as the sky eyes, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Nice pass to you, Kuroko!"

And mess up his hair, as he usually did.  
><em>If only you were the person that I love!,<em> said the red-haired giant noting that, for the first time, the captain was watching him.

"Huh?"

A shock, accelerated heartbeat, heat stroke, when their eyes interbred and he noticed his expression cold, hard, almost as if to scold him. _He's still thinking about what happened yesterday_, he thought as a shiver ran down his back, only to see the other starting to dribble back away, light years away from him.

"We continue to play, come on!"

And then frown, darken.  
><em>I haven't done anything wrong!,<em> he thought again wiping the sweat from his forehead and taking a run, breathing heavily.

"LET'S PLAY, GUYS!"

_And of course I'm not going to blame myself for something I didn't do!_

* * *

><p>"Extra workouts?"<br>"Yeah."

In the locker room the heat was such that it seemed to be suddenly back in the summer, although it was now winter.

"What kind of-... extra workouts?"

Hyuuga was getting dressed (as usual, he was the first to be ready), while all the others were still busy in putting boxer shorts and socks.

"Pair training."

Izuki stopped, particularly intrigued by what the captain was saying.

"Pair training?"  
>"Eh, but don't worry: the pairing were already established by Riko, you only need to follow the program."<br>"What are the pairings?"  
>"I don't know yet, I think Riko will tell us tomorrow afternoon during training."<br>"Understood."

Kagami interrupted their conversation abruptly.  
>He wasn't angry at all.<p>

"I'm leaving."

He wasn't even jealous.

"You don't care what the captain's saying?"

He was just impatient, irritated by the whole situation, so absurd to seem the plot of a drama.

"I've heard what there was to hear, why should I stay here?"

Hyuuga intervened.

"See you tomorrow."

Colder than ice, and more hot lava, however.  
>Kagami turned, opened the door...<p>

"See you."

And slammed it violently behind him, moving away quickly.  
>What was it?<br>What was that strange feeling of emptiness in the chest?


	5. Chapter 5

"Damn-..."

Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling in the concentrate, Kagami was playing with his basket ball.

"What's up with that four-eyes moron?!"

Talking to himself, out loud.

"It was all just a silly misunderstanding, I didn't do anything wrong! What, does he want me to be on my knees and beg him to forgive me?! What kind of sissy would do something like-"

Suddenly, the doorbell interrupted his one way discussion, making him wince.

"What?"

He wondered who it could be, since he never received visits from anyone (and now were actually eleven o'clock at night).

"Maybe-"

_Could it be him?,_ he thought rising with difficulty from the bed, shuffling barefoot toward the front door screaming to wait a moment.

"Kuroko, what kind of-"

Then feeling the usual devastating shiver down his spine.

"What kind of-..."

The moment he opened the door and noticed that it was not Kuroko, the person in front of him.

"Yo."

It was like getting a brick standing on his head, he nearly lost his breath, he thought he had been drinking again or have already asleep.

"You-... here?"

The captain.  
>His obsession had materialized in front of his eyes, and it was also the first time he received him at his house.<p>

"How-... How do you know where I live?"  
>"Kuroko."<br>"Kuroko?"  
>"He told me where you live."<br>"Ah?! That guy-..."

_I have to stop him before he tells everyone how many times I go to the bathroom to pee! _

"B-but-... What are you doing here, I thought you-"  
>"We need to talk."<p>

He swallowed. Hyuuga was dressed differently from how he had seen him earlier that day, and to see him in a totally random outfit was strange.

"Is there anyone at home? Can I come in?"

Intriguing, exciting. Kagami nervously rubbed his thigh, opened the door.

"Y-yes, you can come in."  
>"Thanks."<p>

Hyuuga entered.

"You said Kuroko, while you opened the door. Were you waiting for him?"  
>"W-what? No, of course no!"<p>

With moves extremely slow and strangely sensual, he took off his green jacket and placed it on the red sofa not far from the door, revealing an unusual, tight black shirt.

"Really? I thought you met regularly, outside of the school."  
>"You're wrong! Kuroko is the only one who knows where I live, so-... I thought it was him."<br>"I see."

He looked around curiously. Kagami's apartment was incredibly spacious and elegant, little furniture and a rather large corner where he could train.

"It may be fine."  
>"What?"<br>"You could do here the extra training that Riko will give you."

He slowly raised his left arm and walked over to the bar table in the kitchen, sitting on the stool.

"Don't you offer me anything?"  
>"O-oh-"<p>

Kagami rushed to the fridge, very big for a single person, opened it and began to rummaging inside. It was strange to be there right with him, and he felt really uncomfortable and yet excited at the same time.

"Do you have alcohol?"  
>"No, just some energy drink."<br>"It's fine."

_Why the heck he wants to continually drink?!,_ he asked himself grabbing one of the cans and approaching him.

"What-... What did you want to talk to me?"  
>"You're gay."<p>

Hyuuga was always the same, blunt and arrogant.

"W-well-... You don't need to say like that, you know?"  
>"Oh, sorry."<p>

The air begins to be heavy, thought Kagami placing the can on the table.

"Ah-... don't worry. So? What else?"  
>"I've been thinking a lot and I realized that I'd been unfair to you. After all, we were both drunk that night, and didn't know what we were doing."<br>"Y-yes, but-... I don't think something happened, actually."  
>"How can you be sure?"<br>"W-well-... I-... I would remember-..."  
>"Remember what?"<p>

It was strange, very embarrassing... to talk about certain things.

"I would recall if we had certainly done something-... something _weird_, I mean."  
>"Something weird, you say?"<p>

With elegance, Hyuuga gave a sip at the the energy drink and swallowed quickly, then taking a breath.

"Now kiss me."

Shock.

"E-eh?!"

Kagami had a sort of faint, he leaned against the table.

"W-what?!"  
>"I said kiss me. We can take away the doubt that something has happened or not, if you do it."<p>

A pause.

"If it seems kinda-... _familiar_, it means we actually did something weird, that night."  
>"B-but I don't-"<br>"Just do it!"

Suddenly, he stood up and walked towards him, grabbed him by the shirt.

"It should be natural for you, right?!"  
>"But I can't, not like that!"<br>"Then how?"  
>"I-I-..."<p>

How could he provoke him like that?

"I don't kiss on the first happens, it must-... must be real!"

_Get out... _

"I can't!"

_Get out, now! _

As he headed roughly towards the front door, Kagami felt taken by the arm and restrained.

"Kiss me, Kagami! It shouldn't be that hard, even if you don't feel anything for me!"  
>"You're wrong!"<p>

Hyuuga pulled him, grabbed him by the collar.

"You're gay, right?! You should do it naturally, you-"  
>"I understand, I UNDERSTAND!"<p>

And, within a couple of seconds, the other grabbed his hips and pulled him forcefully, pulled him to his pelvis.

"Don't complain if I suck at kissing, though!"

It was so fast and direct that Hyuuga didn't even have time to reply, their mouths touched and were stuck firmly, quickly, then their tongues interbred, their teeth sunk. Kagami kept holding him tight, squeezing the hem of his black shirt and sliding a hand down his back, quietly pushing him to the bar table.

"Nngh-..."

_If you so ardently desire to be kissed, then I'll do it_, he said himself increasing the pace of his kiss and grabbing him by the hair. Hyuuga clung to his shoulders, displaced, distraught, confused.

"Ah-... Nnh-..."  
>"Stop!"<p>

Then, Kagami stopped abruptly. Their gasps mingled, as well as up to a few seconds before it had been their saliva.

"Not at all "familiar", don't you think?"

Hyuuga were trembling like a leaf, staring at him.

"I-I-..."

_It's certainly his first kiss with a man,_ Kagami said smiling slightly and letting him go slowly, running a hand through his hair.

"You should trust what I tell you a little more, captain. What have you got, now?"

Turning his back, walking slowly. The captain took several seconds to recover, but as soon as he could, he began to cry.

"Y-you're crazy, Kagami!"  
>"Huh? It was you who asked me to do it."<br>"B-but-.. not like that! You've been too-... too much-..."  
>"Too much what? Too vulgar? Too poor?"<p>

Vibrating, twitching, he seemed beside himself. He ran away from Kagami's house without even looking back, not once, trying with all his might to breathe slowly and shake off the heat, that feeling of suffocation.

"H-he-..."

_He did it!,_ he said gently patting his lips with the fingertips of his left hand.

"Ka-Kagami-... he-..."

_He kissed me..._  
><em>And I ... <em>

_I am..._


	6. Chapter 6

"Ka-..."

Suddenly, it was as if the words themselves were frozen in his throat.

"Kagami-... I-..."

And Hyuuga, usually so quick and outspoken, felt as if under the influence of a strange drug.

"Hmm?"

He went into the locker room and looked around, moving closer to the cabinet at the bottom left and leaning a hand on it.

"Y-you-..."

He tried to play the tough guy as usual, but his hands were plotting, his shoulders were stiff, his lips trembled as if moved by an invisible electric shock.

"I-I-... We-... yesterday-..."

Then, finally, the only one in the room with him spoke.

"We what? We didn't do anything."

Kagami was obviously more relaxed and quieter than the previous day. Of course, they hadn't yet clear everything about that famous "night of fire" that never took place, but at least he could understand how immature and in need of attention Hyuuga was.

"W-what?!"

And he knew that he himself had no guilt.

"That's it, I haven't done anything."  
>"You've put your tongue in my mouth!"<br>"You asked me that."  
>"But I didn't mean to say to-... Do it that way!"<p>

Kagami smiled.  
>It was only for a moment, a brief moment...<p>

"And tell, do you like to be kissed in that way?"

Yet, he could clearly see excitement and curiosity in the eyes of the captain, as a child seeing the sea for the first time.

"W-what-... What are you saying, you idiot!"

_I should seize the opportunity_, he said himself placing a hand right next to one another, locking him.

"Admit it. No one's ever kissed you like that."  
>"C-certainly not! I don't-... I don't kiss men!"<br>"I was good, then? I was convincing enough? Did you find the answer to your dilemma?"

Hyuuga's eyes widened.  
><em>What was of his usual effrontery?,<em> he told himself.

"Y-you're a-..."

The usual ego out of turn, the impudence, the extreme self-confidence that he showed even in the worst situations.  
>Now he was helpless, vulnerable, fragile.<br>_And it's all just for a simple kiss,_ thought Kagami chuckling.

"You should see your face right now, captain."

At that moment, both heard a knock at the door of the locker room and they both gasped, turned away instantly.

"Guys, the workouts are about to start!"

Teppei appeared with his usual smile and Hyuuga began to stutter.

"We-... We're coming!"

Kagami saw his hands tremble again, and his face sweating profusely, over the top.  
><em>Maybe<em>, he thought...

"Let's go."

The captain is just like me?

* * *

><p>"Why Kuroko?"<br>"Huh?"

Riko started.

"What do you mean?"

She had been taken by surprise, and the presence of Hyuuga behind her and that strange statement of his.

"Why Kagami must train with Kuroko?"

She gasped, her eyes widened.

"Hyuuga-kun, are you sure you're okay?!"  
>"I'm asking you why, Riko."<p>

The captain looked tense and nervous, and seemed rather strange since he had just come out of the shower.

"Well..."

Hyuuga wasn't as calm as usual, and she even felt intimidated even by his hard gaze.

"Obviously Kagami and Kuroko will train together, as one shoulder of the other."

A pause.

"And, as we all know, the team needs that their union will be strengthened even more."  
>"The team doesn't revolve around them."<p>

The coach raised an eyebrow, doubly surprised.

"Whether you like it or not, the union between Kagami and Kuroko is the highlight of the Seirin, so don't-"  
>"They shouldn't train together."<p>

_What is the point of all this?!,_ asked the girl herself, placing her hands on her hips and puffing.

"Right, I don't know what kind of problems you have with Kagami and Kuroko, but these are my choices and I don't intend to make any changes right now! We are so close to the game, Hyuuga! I put you with Teppei, he's one of the strengths of the team, I don't know what- "  
>"I wanted to train with Kagami."<p>

Silence.  
>Hyuuga lowered his head, lifted his glasses with a couple of fingers.<p>

"It should be me, instead of Kuroko."

He turned his back, lowered.

_I MUST BE CRAZY._

"Anyway-"

He grabbed his bag and put it on his shoulders.

"I didn't mean to question your choices, Riko."

_I MUST LITERALLY BE CRAZY TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS!_

"I'm sorry."

And, with a slow and uncertain movement, he opened the door.  
>What was that irritation?<p>

"Wait, Hyuu-"  
>"See you tomorrow."<p>

The thought of Kagami and Kuroko while training togheter, in the same room.

"Shit..."

He had always been in love with Riko.  
>He couldn't understand why his mouth had moved on its own, why he said that he wanted to train with Kagami.<p>

"Maybe I just need need to rest..."

Then, as the powerful flash of a camera, the memory of that kiss that the red-haired giant had given him a couple of days before, hit him as a stone straight into the stomach.

"What-"

He stopped suddenly, instinctively covered his mouth.  
>He stiffened.<p>

"W-what if Kagami-... During their workouts-..."

_... kissed Kuroko?_

He started walking again, fastly.  
>The road, time, space, everything flowed so strangely fast, he didn't know the direction he was taking.<br>"Kuroko seems very interested in him-..."

_Although I don't know how much._

  
>He raised his head, looked straight in front of him.<p>

"They often see each other after school-..."

Within a few minutes, he reached the main road and the junction leading to his house.

_But Kagami..._  
><em>A few days ago...<em>

A car passed him, his hair trembled.

"He kissed me-..."

Then, finally, it was his turn.

"But-... that doesn't mean anything!"

_It doesn't mean that he is..._

"In love with me!"

He stretched out his left foot, walked on. The city was now completely in the dark, only a few people were still around him.

_So why is it so frustrating?!_

He winced.

_What?_  
><em>Do I feel frustrated?<em>  
><em>I shouldn't, I-...<em>

"I'm not gay! And I don't care if Kagami and Kuroko-"  
>"Kagami-kun?"<p>

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Have you heard one word of what I was saying?"

Instinctively, he hid behind the outer wall of a building (a restaurant), after recognizing Kuroko's voice just in a short distance from him.

"I've heard, I've heard! But there's nothing I can do, right? I have to look forward, FORWARD!"

Kagami?  
>He was with him?<p>

"Also, the game is my top priority right now."

He heard them close the door to the store, their voices went away. He finally came out from his "hiding place", he looked around. _What the heck I'm doing?!,_ he said laughing hysterically, clenching his fists.  
>He was even more annoyed now, annoyed by the fact that they were together, they were talking about serious things.<p>

"I-I just need to distract and stop thinking about it! I must think of the workouts with Teppei, and then to-"

_Wait, no._  
><em>I-...<em>  
><em>I don't care about the training, not now.<em>

"I-I-..."

He swallowed, then stopped again.  
>He looked straight ahead, to the door of the restaurant.<p>

"I need- ..."

_Kagami._  
><em>I need to see Kagami.<em>


End file.
